In a new study from Vanderbilt University, researchers found that people with a high polygenic risk score for colorectal cancer could benefit more from preventing the disease by leading healthy lifestyles.
In the study, the team used data from the UK Biobank.
In the analysis, lifestyle scores of unhealthy, intermediate and healthy were determined according to waist-to-hip ratio, physical activity, sedentary time, processed and red meat intake, vegetable and fruit intake, alcohol consumption and tobacco use.
Polygenic risk scores are used to measure genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer.
Vanderbilt researchers constructed polygenic risk scores using genetic variants associated with colorectal cancer risk identified in recent large genetic studies including more than 120,000 study participants.
They also constructed polygenetic risk scores for several other common cancers.
The team estimated that maintaining a healthy lifestyle was associated with a nearly 40% reduction in colorectal cancer risk among those with a high genetic risk of developing the disease.
The percentage dropped to only about 25% among people at low genetic risk for this cancer.
People with high genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle were more than three times as likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer than those with low genetic risk and a healthy lifestyle.
The team says results from this study could be useful to design personalized prevention strategies for colorectal cancer prevention.
If you care about colon cancer, please read studies about a new cause of colon cancer and findings of common high blood pressure drugs may lower colon cancer risk.
For more information about colon cancer treatment and prevention, please see recent studies about this exercise may effectively reduce colon cancer growth and results showing that fried oil may enhance colon cancer growth.
The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One author of the study is Wei Zheng, MD, Ph.D., MPH.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
